PARA ATHLETICS

If you’re a junior or senior para athlete or would like to get into para athletics, then you’ve come to the right place. Our friendly and supportive coaches will help you develop your skills for competition or for your own personal development. Our notable athletes include Lindsey Chapman who secured Gold at the Invictus Games in 2017, Scottish Junior International Nathan Blackie, Chris Nash and Heather Rowe.

Our para athletics section began with Martin Cook who came to the Ashdown track with his son in the search of facilities to help his son train. We’ve grown from just focusing on wheelchair racing to include field disciplines too. The section currently has around 20 athletes competing as part of the club.

Training is fully inclusive with both senior and junior athletes. Our coaches help with everything from developing athletes’ stamina through to sprinting and throwing. Wheelchair training sessions take place on Wednesdays from 6:30pm to 8:00pm at the Ashdown track, cost £2.50.

Coaches work with para athletes to develop their skills to progress through various competitions.

Firstly, athletes can test their track and field skills in the Poole AC competition which usually takes place in April and September at the Ashdown track.

At the next level, CPSports (Cerebral Palsy Sports) offers the opportunity to compete against athletes from other clubs. Events could include 5ks and 10ks through to dedicated Athletics Series. A list of events can be found here>>

Our wheelchair athletes can also progress onto British Wheelchair Racing which has seen the likes of David Weir and Hannah Cockroft compete.